Fabulous Financials

In honor of September 11th.

photo credit: lumaxart

Last week, I solicited your input to learn more about my readers and what you would like to read on Fabulous Financials. Your responses were very helpful, so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! The polls were open for one week and there were over 600 responses. Below are the results and a collection of what you would like to read on Fabulous Financials.

1. GENDER

Not surprised, 90% of my readers are female. The other 10% that make up the weaker sex (lol), umm…how can I make my blog more interesting for you?

2. AGE

Again, not that surprised, over 80% of my readers are in their 20s and 30s.

3. EDUCATION

Almost 80% of my readers are college educated and 28% of that number hold graduate degrees. A highly intelligent group and I’m not surprised by that at all. ;-)

4. FAMILY

I was a bit surprised by this one though. 44% of my readers are single with “no children” and 35% are “married” with/without children, which means only 21% of my readers are single parents. Interesting. As a single parent, I never thought I would appeal to any other group, so this is a good thing. It tells me that I’ve crossed a boundary and appeal to a wider audience. This makes me think of the African American actor/actress that crosses the color lines on the big screen and mainstream media. I don’t know why, but it’s an odd measure of success. LOL

My blog has certainly evolved over the years. However, I need not forget where I came from, who I am, OR the original intent when I first started this blog over 2 years ago. So the poll results also tell me that I should try harder to reach other single parents. As one of the fastest growing family unit in the United States, single parents need encouragement, motivation, and tips on how to overcome the financial challenges of being mommy AND daddy.

Too often, single parents are viewed as poor victims. And sometimes, we perpetuate the stereotype. But in my not so humble opinion, I think it’s BS. Yes, we are victims of circumstance, but life goes on and circumstances can be changed. The way I see it, being a single parent is a responsibility, not a label – nor does it define my success or failure in life. As I’ve learned through trial and error, I want other single parents to realize:

• Child support is your legal right, but it may not come.
• Buying your children toys and name brand clothes are nice, but they aren’t necessary.
• Government assistance is there if you need it, but it’s only supposed to be temporary.
• Use the system to your advantage, but parlay those same skills into a career.
• Think about how your children will eat for today, but “plan” for the future.
• Make sacrifices for your children, but take care of yourself first.
• Your knight in shining armor may never come, deal with it.

There’s so much I can share, so much I can teach, so much I can give to other single parents. I just need to figure out how. I’m open to ideas/suggestions.

5. HOUSING

The rent vs. own poll was split equally. With the current housing market, it’s no surprise that people are torn. My feet are firmly planted in both, but I don’t know which I prefer more.

I assume the 7% who selected ‘temporary’ housing meant college campus or with relatives during a life transition.

6. EMPLOYMENT

81% of my readers are tolling away on the CSS, either full time OR part time. Another 16% are self employed or in school, which is great, but I’d like to know something. How in the heck do we find time to blog, read blogs, and/or comment on blogs all damn day? Ha!

3% of my readers are unemployed. Hmm…I’d like to speak with at least one of them so I can write a post about dealing with unemployment. If you fall in this category, please email me.

7. GEOGRAPHY

Most of my readers are evenly spread all over the US, but 9.4% are outside the US. I checked the map that logged your IP addresses and I see many of you hail from Canada, Bahamas, Antigua, Barbados, China, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Finland, and lots more. Wooo-weee!

*waving* Heeeeeeey!!

My passport is looking a little empty and I need a vacation. Email me, pleeeeeeeease! I’d like to know what you love the most about your country so I can decide where I want to visit. LOL I prefer emails in English, but if not, I can translate using this free website. Thank ya kindly. ;-)

8. HOUSEHOLD GROSS INCOME

Over 55% of my readers earn between $25k and $75k. This reminds me of a post written by Madame X, titled What’s Up With Middle Class. I wonder if this poll/salary range is representative of what is now considered “middle” class America.

Nearly 22% of my readers earn over $100k. I wonder what attracts this group to my blog. I don’t write about advanced or complex personal finance topics. Unlike other PF bloggers, I tend to keep it simple and primarily focus on the details of my own personal financials.

9. DEBT BALANCE

25% of my readers are either debt free or non-mortgage debt free! Wooo-weee!! FABULOUS!! But nearly 50% owe more than $10k and 28% of that number owe more than $30k. :-(

This tells me three things: 1) my readers are loyal because I haven’t written a debt reduction post in months (lol), 2) I should write a post on life after debt, and 3) I need to write about debt reduction more often. Although no one specifically suggested it, the numbers speak to me loud and clear. I know I said I wasn’t going to write anymore debt reduction posts after I became debt free, but I realize that was selfish. I’ll do a better job to address your needs in the future – maybe even offer another debt payoff incentive if there’s enough participation.

10. TYPES OF DEBT

Almost 50% of my readers said credit cards and student loans were part of their debt mix. Student loans are a necessary evil. Trust me, I’ve had my share. But the credit card debt concerns me. What’s going on? Do we have champagne taste and beer money? Or did life throw us lemons and we’re still trying to make lemonade? Talk to me.

11. NET WORTH

Over 42% of my readers either don’t know their net worth or have a negative net worth. I can probably help in this area by first explaining what net worth means and what it consists of, then bring you resources/information to help you climb out of the debt hole (see #9). Eventually, the net worth will take care of itself.

Over 5% of my readers have a net worth that exceed 1/2 million dollars. I’m intrigued, so I’d like to know if these readers: 1) have a PF blog I can read, 2) would be willing to write a guest post about their approach to personal finances, and 3) can offer any quick words of wisdom for us in the comments section. Thank ya kindly! ;-)

12. PHASE OF PERSONAL FINANCE JOURNEY

Consistent with previous results, 51% of my readers are focusing on debt reduction. 57% are also focusing on saving, which is equally important. If you apply all of your resources towards debt reduction without a safety net, it will only increase the risk of more debt when something unexpected happens.

Less than 10% of my readers are living paycheck to paycheck. I’m glad this is a small number, wish it were smaller, but it tells me most of you don’t have to live beyond your means. Instead, you have the extra resources to reduce debt, build a safety net, and/or contribute to retirement.

13. BLOGGERS

35% of my readers are bloggers. I expected that % to be larger. Nearly 50% read but don’t comment and only 30% subscribe to my feed. Whaaaaaaat?!?! :-O

Is this because you don’t understand feeds -or- you didn’t know you could subscribe to my feed through a reader -or- you didn’t know you could subscribe to my feed via email?

What I like most about subscribing is receiving the alerts when a site I read is updated. Instead of checking the site multiple times a day, I just wait for the alert, then I know there’s something new to read. It truly makes life easy. So I hope you consider joining the other 1,000+ readers and subscribe to Fabulous Financials today.

14. YOUR BLOG TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

You are interested in reading more topics about my money in general (70%), my savings (60%), my career (59%), my investments (57%), Mr. Eye Candy & BabyGirl (both 46%), my credit (33%), and my shopping escapades are the least preferred (30%). Another 4% suggested “other” topics in the comments and via email, which include:

• What was the kick in the pants that turned my life around?
• How I manage money differently than the rest of my family
• My graduate school experience as a single parent
• Suggestions for recent graduates
• Managing student loans
• How did I fund my college education
• Detailed summary of big ticket purchases (ex: new car and new tires posts)
• My rants and general entries that make people laugh
• How I deal with stressful/difficult situations
• My salary and what I spend it on
• Appropriate office attire
• How to build a professional wardrobe on a budget
• Investing for non-retirement
• BabyGirl and her friends’ (i.e. teens) attitudes about money
• Encourage others to become debt free

You guys have given me some very interesting writing ideas and I will attempt to address each and every one of them. Please feel free email me with new suggestions any time. I can’t promise I’ll use your suggestion right away, but I’ll definitely add it to the list for future reference.

Also, if you’re passionate about a PF related topic, I welcome guest post submissions to be featured on Fabulous Financials. They help a sista out during dry spells. LOL

And by the way, if you missed them, the polls are still open. Thanks again for participating!

Pardon the dust

The designer is still working out the kinks.

But in the meantime

Please tell me what you think.

HA HA HA check me out freestylin’! LOL

Ok, ok. That was wack. So what! :-P

Everyday, all day, I blab about myself.

I did this and that…
I accomplished this…
I failed at that…
My goals are blah blah blah…

But enough about me already!

I want to know more about YOU. Call me nosy if that’s what you prefer (I won’t deny it LOL), but I want to know who reads my blog so I can better connect with my audience. It will also give me quick writing ideas when I’m in a blogging funk and allow me to bring you more useful information. So I’ve create a few polls and tried to include every possible scenario, but if you don’t fit the mold, feel free to leave more details in the comments. Thank ya kindly!

1. GENDER

2. AGE

3. EDUCATION

4. FAMILY

5. HOUSING

6. EMPLOYMENT

7. GEOGRAPHY

8. INCOME

9. DEBT BALANCE

10. DEBT

11. NET WORTH

12. FOCUS OF PERSONAL FINANCE

13. BLOGGING

14. BLOGGING IDEAS

So you all won’t think this info exchange is one-sided, I’ll answer the questions too:

1. Female
2. 30 range
3. MBA
4. Single Parent
5. I own (and rent). If you’re new to FF, read Apr-May 2007 archives.
6. CSS driver
7. East
8. $100k+
9. Non-mortgage debt free
10. Mortgage only
11. $100k+
12. Investing for non-retirement, everything else on auto pilot

If you read via RSS reader or email, please click through to answer the polls.
Thanks in advance to all who participate. Me luv you long time! ;-)

Credit for this idea: Millionaire Mommy Next Door.

I’ve noticed a few of you have used the WordPress registration link to register your emails on Fabulous Financials. Umm, thank you! But I have a confession. I have no idea what the WordPress registration is for. LOL! I just haven’t figure out how to remove it.

If you registered for permission to comment, thank you, but feel free to comment anytime from anywhere. Some blogs restrict comments to registered members, but Fabulous Financials is – and always will be – open to everyone. Although anonymous comments are often harsh and borderline insulting, I can hang with the best of them so I will never restrict comments from anyone. However, if a visitor ever becomes disruptive to your reading pleasure, I will restrict the entire IP address from viewing the site at all. Otherwise, everyone is welcome to read and comment. I appreciate all of you for making Fabulous Financials what it has become!

Do you enjoy reading Fabulous Financials? Would you like to keep up with my continued shoe deprivation (lol), my career changes, BabyGirl’s teen financials, my progress towards meeting our net worth and annual goals, what I think of the books I’ve been reading, or how about the planning for our first trip to Paris? If any of that sounds interesting and you want to be notified when I publish new information, you can subscribe to my feed using any reader of your choice and never ever miss a thing.

…or you can subscribe via email and receive email updates every morning.

Both options will remain in the sidebar under “Subscribe” so you can choose either at anytime. Thanks for hanging in there with me everyday!